Random name picker for teachers

How do I cold-call students fairly?

Ask the question to everyone, wait a few seconds, and only then spin. Because nobody knows who will be chosen, every student has a reason to prepare an answer, and because the wheel does the choosing, nobody can claim you always pick on them. Taking each name off means the quiet student at the back gets exactly as many turns as the eager hand-raiser.

Add a safety net so a spin feels like an invitation rather than an ambush. Popular options are "phone a friend", where the picked student may ask a neighbour; "pass and return", where they may pass but you come back to them two spins later; and a thirty-second pair discussion before each spin, so every answer has been rehearsed out loud first.

Participation routines that work with a name wheel

• Retrieval warm-up: three spins at the start of the lesson, and each chosen student recalls one idea from last time.
• Classroom jobs: spin on Monday for line leader, board cleaner and materials monitor.
• Reading aloud: spin for who reads the next paragraph, so students follow along instead of counting ahead.
• Exit tickets: spin two names at the end of the lesson to share what they wrote.
• Reward draws: pick a student for a treat from our classroom reward ideas.

For whole-class games built around a spinner, see spinner wheel games for classrooms. When you need groups instead of individuals, the team picker wheel deals the whole class into teams in one click.

What happens when every student has been picked?

The list shrinks by one each time you close the result pop-up. The final student stays on the wheel, since a wheel needs at least one slice, so you know who is last without spinning. To start a fresh round with the whole class, reopen the link you saved for that group. With the sample names, Reset to default brings back all twelve and clears the Results list.

If someone is absent, delete their name with the × beside it before the lesson begins. It returns automatically the next time you open the class link, so you never have to retype the register.

How do I keep a separate list for each class or period?

The wheel saves one list per page in your browser, so this page always remembers the class you used most recently. If you teach several groups, set each one up once, give it a wheel title such as "Period 3 Biology", then press Share or embed and copy its link. Keep the links in a bookmarks folder or in your planner. Opening one loads that exact class with removal already switched on.

A link captures the list as it is at that moment, so copy it at the start of term while everyone is still on the wheel.

Is it safe to put student names on the wheel?

Names you type stay in the browser on your device. SpinDecide does not upload them, keep a copy on a server or ask you to create an account; the privacy policy sets out what the site does and does not collect. A share link is the exception, because the names travel inside the link itself, so anyone who has it can read the list.

Keep class links in your own bookmarks rather than posting them on a public page, use first names or initials, and follow your school's policy on student data.